I watched Moana a while ago and although I liked it, I feel it fell short and could have been much better. I love animated films, and there are many that appeal to both young and adult viewers. Pixar and sometimes Disney do a fantastic job at this, showing colorful and imaginative worlds, while also illustrating real world issues, deep and interesting characters and relationships. Unfortunately, Moana ends up being more of a kids' movie.
First, I must say Moana does a lot of things right. The visuals are amazing, and the animation is stunning. I liked the design of the characters and the world felt alive. Artistically I have nothing but praise for Moana.
One of my complaints has to do with the title character. Moana is too perfect. A good story must provide room for some character growth, where the hero learns from their mistakes to overcome a difficulty and emerges changed. From the start we see Moana as the strong, confident person ready to face evil. An interesting character must be flawed. If we look at some great animated films, we can identify very definite flaws in the heroes. Toy Story's Woody is jealous, Simba runs away from responsibility, Aladdin lies, Marvin is overprotecting of Nemo, and their imperfections are what makes them relatable and makes for a satisfying conclusion after they better themselves along the journey. What can we say about Moana? She is perhaps a bit stubborn, but rather she is determined. I cannot see how Moana is better at the end of her journey than she was at the beginning. She has only one moment of doubt, about 40 seconds of frustration after a major defeat after which her grandmother comes back and reassures her about how awesome she is. Now compare this scene with Mufasa's ghost's speech "You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me (...) Remember who you are.” and see how much more dramatic and impactful it is.
I would have completely removed the Ocean's magic character from the film, it provides such a safety net that negates all stakes. I would have avoided the chosen hero trope, Moana is determined enough to not need the universe constantly telling her to keep going, it takes away from her accomplishments. What I would add to is her relationship with her father. This could have been one of the main conflicts on the film (aside from the darkness enveloping the world devouring all life) yet remains unexplored. This is where Pixar truly shines, telling very human stories through fantastical creatures, toys, robots, fish or monsters. But for Moana falls short, it feels like this is just a plot device and a minor inconvenience. After a moving scene telling how Moana's father saw his friend drown, filling him with guilt and regret, explaining his reasons for wanting Moana away from the ocean, her first reaction is to sing a song about how much she loves the ocean. Then after a major fight she just runs away and doesn't come back until after she saves the world and is welcomed back. Their relationship is never worked on and therefore not resolved satisfyingly.
Now this is how I would edit the story. Her father had a traumatic event, as a consequence he stands in conflict with Moana's path (to travel through the ocean). Moana realizes this conflict, so it must be hard for her to go to the ocean after knowing what his father went through (seeing his friend die and possibly almost drowning himself). Yet she keeps going. She must then encounter a problem, I would have a scene that mirrors the one with her father's friend. Maybe when Moana is on the ocean her father goes after her trying to get her back, and he has an accident, where Moana now must rescue him. She still manages to save him, but now has experienced the fright and guilt of almost losing a loved one because of her recklessness, bringing her closer to her father. Meanwhile her father (rescued) understands that Moana is a different person, he sees how strong she is and accepts that is her destiny. The closest to this in the movie was Moana having her boat flipped. She did struggle in the water and had her pet pig in danger, but it was more directed at "the ocean is dangerous" than to "this is what your father went through". Right after this happens, the next dialog is to blame it on the pig, and don't tell dad. I feel this was a lost opportunity. Because saving the world from darkness is not relatable, a conflicting but loving relationship with a parent is.
TLDR: The character Moana is too perfect, needs to be more flawed to be able to grow and be interesting. Explore more her relationship with her father.
Submitted August 29, 2018 at 07:04AM by ernesto_sabato https://ift.tt/2wpzgzU